The stock market has been racing higher at nearly unprecedented levels in recent years. Even so, the healthcare sector in general, and biopharma stocks in particular, have still managed to crush the broader markets over the last few years. Since 2012, for instance, the iShares Nasdaq Biotech Index (NASDAQ: IBB ) has more than tripled the returns of the closely watched S&P 500.
Perhaps what's surprising is that even dividend paying Big Pharma stocks, like Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA), have soared since 2012. Put simply, these "income stocks" have been behaving more like "growth stocks" throughout the course of this incredible bull run. The growth party, though, might be coming to a swift end. According to the 13F filings with the SEC during the third-quarter, we learned that a number of major hedge funds, such as Soros Fund Management, have begun dumping these three top dividend stocks. Specifically, the Soros Fund sold its entire position in both Lilly and J&J, and a noteworthy 14.3% of its massive Teva holdings during the third-quarter.